Welcome to Miss Beringer’s 8th Grade Physical Science Class
2009-2010
As 8th grade students, you will be studying Physics for the first half of the year and then Chemistry during the second half. Physical science is quite different from Life Science and involves a bit more math. Don’t worry, though! This year, you will be discovering the answers to lots of questions you have wondered about and these new concepts will challenge how you see the world around you!
Student Textbook: Glencoe Introduction to Physical Science (Students may keep textbooks at home.)
Materials Needed DAILY:
• A Section in a large Three-Ring Binder dedicated to Science
• Looseleaf paper and pens or pencils (have these everyday; neither will be provided and you cannot go back to your locker for them).
Classroom Policy: (School-Wide Policies)
• Students are to come prepared to class each day with pen or pencil, fresh looseleaf paper, their Science binder, and any due assignments. Students are not permitted back to their lockers once the late bell rings.
• Late work will not be accepted for grading. Work is considered late if any due assignment is left behind (ex. at home or in the locker) when collection is requested. See Absence Policy about “make-up work.”
• Students will not be permitted out of the classroom for the first and last ten minutes of class. Students are required to have their agenda books to use for passes.
Grading Policy:
The grading policy listed below is a school-wide standard. Most classes will list classwork as 40%; however, for Science, that category is divided into Classwork (20%) and Lab Activities (20%).
20% Classwork 20% Lab Activities 40% Assessments 20% Homework
*Project grades will be included under HW & Assessments
90.0 – 100.0 A
80.0 – 89.4 B
70.0 – 79.4 C
60.0 – 69.4 D
59.4 E
For the very few grades that may fall between x9.5 and y0.0% (ex. 79.5 and 80.0%), grades will be rounded up ONLY IF the homework grade is the higher grade or better. If a grade is less than x9.5% (ex. 89.4%), the grade will not be rounded up (as in, an 89.4% is considered a “B”).
Absence Policy:
If a student is absent from school, he or she must bring a signed note from the doctor or parent/guardian to the Front Office and this must be done within two (2) days of returning from the absence. Parents/guardians may call the office as well. It is the student’s responsibility to request make-up work and to obtain missed notes. There is a class notebook with a record of all class activities that is available to students to use and check against their own notebooks. Also, folders containing the classwork and homework activities are organized by day near the front of the classroom. A student may retrieve any worksheets that need to be made up due to excused absence from these folders. For missed quizzes, the student needs to see me.
MSA Testing and the Math Action Plan (MAP):
In Science and Math classes, students will have math drills that support building students’ skills towards the MSA Math. In support of MSA Science, all students will be enrolled in a MSA Science Prep Seminar for one quarter. The MSA Science Seminar will focus on 6th and 7th Grade Science vocabulary and concepts. 8th Grade Science review will be held during the month leading up to the MSA Science (late April – early May).
2009-2010
As 8th grade students, you will be studying Physics for the first half of the year and then Chemistry during the second half. Physical science is quite different from Life Science and involves a bit more math. Don’t worry, though! This year, you will be discovering the answers to lots of questions you have wondered about and these new concepts will challenge how you see the world around you!
The Topics Covered:
• 1st Quarter: Lab Safety, Metric System, Motion, Newton’s Laws, & Energy
• 2nd Quarter: Energy, Electricity, Magnetism, Waves, Sound & Light
• 3rd Quarter: Basic Chemistry (Atomic Theory, Acids & Bases, Elements, Compounds, Mixtures, & Periodic Table)
• 4th Quarter: Advanced Chemistry (Chemical Reactions, Chemical Equations,Nuclear Energy & Radioactivity)
Student Textbook: Glencoe Introduction to Physical Science (Students may keep textbooks at home.)
Materials Needed DAILY:
• A Section in a large Three-Ring Binder dedicated to Science
• Looseleaf paper and pens or pencils (have these everyday; neither will be provided and you cannot go back to your locker for them).
Classroom Policy: (School-Wide Policies)
• Students are to come prepared to class each day with pen or pencil, fresh looseleaf paper, their Science binder, and any due assignments. Students are not permitted back to their lockers once the late bell rings.
• Late work will not be accepted for grading. Work is considered late if any due assignment is left behind (ex. at home or in the locker) when collection is requested. See Absence Policy about “make-up work.”
• Students will not be permitted out of the classroom for the first and last ten minutes of class. Students are required to have their agenda books to use for passes.
Grading Policy:
The grading policy listed below is a school-wide standard. Most classes will list classwork as 40%; however, for Science, that category is divided into Classwork (20%) and Lab Activities (20%).
20% Classwork
20% Lab Activities
40% Assessments
20% Homework
*Project grades will be included under HW & Assessments
90.0 – 100.0 A
80.0 – 89.4 B
70.0 – 79.4 C
60.0 – 69.4 D
For the very few grades that may fall between x9.5 and y0.0% (ex. 79.5 and 80.0%), grades will be rounded up ONLY IF the homework grade is the higher grade or better. If a grade is less than x9.5% (ex. 89.4%), the grade will not be rounded up (as in, an 89.4% is considered a “B”).
Absence Policy:
If a student is absent from school, he or she must bring a signed note from the doctor or parent/guardian to the Front Office and this must be done within two (2) days of returning from the absence. Parents/guardians may call the office as well. It is the student’s responsibility to request make-up work and to obtain missed notes. There is a class notebook with a record of all class activities that is available to students to use and check against their own notebooks. Also, folders containing the classwork and homework activities are organized by day near the front of the classroom. A student may retrieve any worksheets that need to be made up due to excused absence from these folders. For missed quizzes, the student needs to see me.
MSA Testing and the Math Action Plan (MAP):
In Science and Math classes, students will have math drills that support building students’ skills towards the MSA Math. In support of MSA Science, all students will be enrolled in a MSA Science Prep Seminar for one quarter. The MSA Science Seminar will focus on 6th and 7th Grade Science vocabulary and concepts. 8th Grade Science review will be held during the month leading up to the MSA Science (late April – early May).